Decarbonization or removal/reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) output into the atmosphere is a increasing demand from governments and civil society. In the chemical industry – as many others – decarbonization is a hot topic and refers no longer to the fixed carbon in the molecular architecture of products made, but to the carbon footprint left in the wake of a product manufacture, use and disposal.
The $4.7 trillion global chemical industry accounts for approximately 2% of total carbon CO2 emissions globally – about 925-mt annually. This is the goal for reduction, and a tough one at that. One that the industry has just simply began to emphasize, by deploying a slew of approaches, inclusive of a few novel technologies which are only now out of laboratories and being taken down the exhausting direction of commercialization.
The use of bio-based raw materials as an option to petroleum-primarily based feedstock and the great highlight on recycled materials (specially polymers) are two well processes to decarbonization commercially deployed at scale. So are use of process efficiency improvement; deployment of digital technologies; and low- and/or no-carbon energy assets. But there are several different initiatives at early phrases of the technology curve which could have an effect. These include utilization of green hydrogen and nuclear energy; electrification of chemicals manufacturing, particularly of ethylene; carbon capture and storage (CCS); and carbon capture and using (CCU).
Process efficiency improvements
Efficiency improves in materials and energy utilization are low-placing end result which have quick and tremendous paybacks. They are usually low-value and regulatory friendly (meaning there are no cumbersome approvals) and might provide a 5-10% reduce capacity in carbon emissions.
A few such measures consist of advanced heat integration, which includes usage of waste and low-grade heats; improvement in energy performance of present equipment, which includes chillers, pumps, and many others.; replacement of older equipment with contemporary ones; and close overall performance monitoring of equipment along with heat exchangers, pumps, etc. The use of sensors, to ensure design-level performance.
Digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), and Digital Twins are helping this venture, allowing the chemical industry reduce useful resource & energy consumption, improve performance, and so drive decarbonization. These technologies assist in optimizing methods, predicting maintenance demands, and estimating carbon footprints, leading to more sustainable practices and lower emissions.
Digital technology can, as an example, facilitate integration of heat from unique techniques, lowering energy waste and increasing average efficiency. AI and ML can are expecting equipment failures, bearing for proactive maintenance and decreasing downtime, which in turn minimizes energy waste and emissions. Real-time data from sensors can be used to monitor energy consumption and identify areas for improvement, main to more efficient use of resources and reduced emissions.
Embracing renewable strength
The chemical industry is also turning to renewable power (RE) – solar, wind or biomass-derived – in a more concerted way. In India, numerous enterprises have opted to switch from fossil- to biomass-fired boilers for generation of steam and power, aided through the emergence of a growing ecosystem for supply of densified biomass at scale. While the sugar industry has for long used bagasse in its boilers for steam generation, numerous chemical units have also re-engineered steam generation plant (or installed new ones) to hold biomass – partly or absolutely.
According to an analysis finished with the aid of McKinsey, a consultancy, newer approaches to steam generation can afford to pay for reduction of 25-30% at the chemical industry’s carbon footprint (in a European context). In the more fragmented Indian chemical industry, those savings may not amount to that much but will still be great.
Other approaches that have won momentum is to invest into captive solar and wind energy ventures to meet energy demands (if only partially), or to sign power buy agreements with third-party RE players.
Going nuclear
An exciting dimension in use of low-carbon energy – electric and thermal – is the possible deployment of nuclear energy to satisfy the demands of large petrochemical complexes. In the USA, the petrochemical company Dow, is partnering with X-Energy, a nuclear fuel & power enterprise, with the goal of deploying the latter’s small modular reactors (SMRs) that use a novel uranium-based fuel and are inherently secure, at one in its sites.
There is an excellent fit between the nuclear and the petrochemical industries – in the supply and call for for thermal power and electricity with high reliability – and, if the effort is successful, it could be a harbinger of more. But the regulatory clearances required means commercial deployment remains a while away.
SMR technology has also caught the fancy of the Indian authorities, and a concerted programme has now been released to develop indigenous abilities on this promising area.
Green hydrogen
Aside the usage of wind and solar energy, using ‘green’ hydrogen is also a recurring function among decarbonization efforts. In evaluation to conventional (‘grey’) hydrogen, which comes from fossil fuels (particular natural gas), ‘green’ hydrogen is produced by electrolytic splitting of water, with the electricity coming from renewable sources. Several ventures – many in collaborative networks with enterprises having complementary skills – are in the works and the technology is on the cusp of deployment at industry-relevant scale.
Many sectors such as iron ore & metallic, fertilisers, refining, methanol and maritime shipping emit major amounts of CO2, and carbon-free hydrogen will play a vital role in permitting their deep decarbonization.
CCU and CCS
CCU venture are gaining some traction as well. Covestro, for example, makes a polyurethane foam component (a polyol) the usage of CO2 as a feedstock on industrial scale, and these days showcased the first CO2-primarily based surfactants with suitable washing and biodegradation properties. CCS is also starting to be deployed at scale, however its use is restrained with the aid of the needs for close by underground reservoirs or depleted oil & gas wells into which CO2 can be pumped and locked away for good .
Electrification of methods
At a more fundamental stage are numerous efforts to electrify chemical approaches, the most significant of which are those ones concentrated on ethylene manufacturing by of steam cracking, which recently relies on thermal energy acquired from burning fossil fuels.
While an electrified cracker has no meaningful CO2 emissions (provided the power sources is renewable) on a non-stop basis (some intermittent emissions arise), the power requirements are sizeable – upwards of 900-MW for a large length ethylene plant – sufficient to power up a medium-sized city.
There are numerous cracker electrification efforts ongoing – all in partnerships, given the complexity of the challenge – and stakeholders are confident of achievement. If scale-up happens as anticipated, this will represent a massive advance in the manufacture of a basic petrochemical feedstock and lay the platform for a range of ‘greener’ petrochemicals. But massive-scale deployment is unlikely till well into the next decade.
Lots of demanding situations
As pressure mounts on industries to decrease carbon emissions, governments and enterprise are making a bet on numerous alternatives. While a number of the technology being deployed have matured and are at the path of commercialization with falling prices (assume solar and wind), others (which includes ‘green’ hydrogen) nevertheless face uncertainties as regards capital charges and competitiveness. But with timelines for decarbonization beyond 2030, there’s a some– though now not a lot – of time to learn from experimental and pilot decarbonization ventures.
Whatever the pathways, it is evident that decarbonization will neither be smooth nor reasonably-priced. There is little consensus on what this will need in terms of capital expenditure with estimates for the global petrochemical industry varying from a low of $750 billion (Bloomberg NEF), to a high of $2 trillion (McKinsey & Co) by 2050. Some research also proposes decarbonizing ammonia production alone will need about $1 trillion!
With higher costs, the resulting decarbonized products might need to sell at a top rate to standard material – perhaps a tremendous one early on – or be supported via government incentives, or both.
Any which way, policy and fiscal supports from governments could be main in permitting this hard, but essential, transition.
